لِنُرِيَكَ مِنْ ءَايَٰتِنَا ٱلْكُبْرَى
That We may show you [some] of Our greater signs.
Introduction
This is āyah 23 of Sūrat Taa-Haa (Ta-Ha), the 45th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 16. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 45 of 114
- Surah
- Taa-Haa (20)
That We may show thee some of Our greatest signs. The greatest sign was the witnessing and finding that came to him, the varieties of states perceived by the servant's tasting that do not derive from self-exertion and self-determination. In reality the greatest sign is that which is hidden from the eyes of the creatures and free of the servant's self-exertion and self-determination. Unasked for, a wine comes from the Unseen and reaches the servant's secret core, so he finds its taste in his spirit-a spiritual delight with a hundred thousand hidden drums, an everlasting resurrection. The soul is mixed with companionship, the spirit clinging to its desire, the heart drowned in the light of finding. Because of the drowning the servant does not discern the seeking from the finding. Because of the radiance of finding, it cannot be expressed. He burns in the fire of love and does not turn back from joy. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, when that which cannot be asked for comes to be found, who asked for it? When something is beyond reward, what is asking next to it? Everything that comes from the rain of favor is the springtime of that very moment, and everything that comes from undertaking and asking is aid sought by the servant. O God, knowledge and striving are the Adamite's tribulation, but everyone's portion from You is worthy of Your beginningless deed.”
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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